Civil Society Engagement and National Reconciliation

In partnership with the UK Government, between July 2015 and March 2016, SSS implemented a civil society engagement and reconciliation program that focused on 5 key program components. These programs are outlined below.

Liaison Officer ProgramSSS established a Civil Society Organization (CSO) based Liaison Officer Program within the Ministry of Social Policy (MOSP) that focused on strengthening the capacity of the MOSP to engage with Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and vulnerable communities and surrounding issues relating to the social consequences of the conflict in Donbas. During the project timeframe, over 51,000 IDP’s received access to essential services and were assisted through this component.

Small Grants ProgramLocal IDP-initiated community development and engagement programming was conducted throughout Ukraine. This program provided funding for IDP based initiatives aimed at the development and empowerment of IDPs and their communities, as well as the harmonization of relations between IDPs and local host communities. In total, 63 projects were funded through a small grant program, which led to 19,000 people being reached through a variety of different IDP initiatives.

Peace-building WorkshopsIn partnership with the Union of Women of Ukraine, a CSO based series of women-led peace building workshops entitled “Reconciliation through Women” were delivered. The fundamental logic of this program was to unite Ukrainians by providing help in coping with the consequences of the conflict and creating possibilities for dialogue and reconciliation in society. These peace-building workshops for women reached more than 2,000 female activists around Ukraine and the events resulted in reconciliation at the familial level, the integration of IDPs into host communities and launched a national discussion about how to bring peace to Ukraine.

Psychosocial SupportA psychosocial program was delivered in Mariupol for children and families who suffered trauma as a result of the conflict. In total more than 1,000 IDP children and 800 IDP parents received psychological support and therapy increasing their quality of life and enabling integration into host communities.

Photo ExhibitIn order to foster understanding throughout Ukraine for the plight of IDPs, an IDP photo exhibit was created to highlight the stories of different IDP individuals and families. This exhibit was taken to 6 Ukrainian cities, in addition to being displayed in Brussels, Belgium and London, UK.

​Winter Shelter ProgramIn partnership with Depaul International, winter shelters were opened in Kyiv, Odessa and Kharkiv. These shelters provided access to services including beds, meals, legal advice and medical services for homeless IDPs and other vulnerable communities. In total, 1759 people benefited from this programming. ​​​